During FY 2000, investigators from the Employment Standards
Administration's Wage and Hour Division conducted 309 investigations of full
service restaurant, fast food and supermarket establishments to determine the
level of compliance with the youth employment provisions of the Fair Labor
Standards Act (the FLSA). This initiative, undertaken pursuant to Wage
and Hour's strategic goal to increase youth employment compliance, is a
component of Wage and Hour's overall strategic plan under the Government
Performance and Results Act.

Survey Approach

The compliance survey was designed to determine the overall
level of youth employment compliance in each of these industries; measure the
effectiveness of prior Wage and Hour interventions; and establish a baseline
level of compliance from which future outreach and enforcement initiatives
could be designed and their efficacy measured. A random sample of 68
firms was selected from Dun & Bradstreet data to determine the survey
sample cases in each of the three industries. Another 40 firms from each
of three industries were randomly selected using Wage and Hour's enforcement
database of all firms investigated and found to have youth employment violations
during the prior-five year period.

In each of the survey cases completed, Wage and Hour
investigators visited the establishment; met with the employer or his/her
representative; reviewed pertinent records; and, interviewed employees.
The results were then analyzed to determine what, if any, particular patterns
contributed to youth employment violations in each of the industries.
Although Wage and Hour investigators report violations of State requirements to
proper authorities, these survey findings do not reflect compliance with State youth
employment provisions.

Survey Findings

Full Service Restaurants

Seventy-eight
percent (78%) of the full service restaurants in the baseline sample were
found to be in youth employment compliance.

Eighty-nine percent (89%) of the
minors in these establishments were found to be employed in compliance.

However, the percentage of 14 and
15-year-olds found working in violation of youth employment laws in full
service restaurants was much higher than the baseline. For the two
sample pay periods for which detailed information was collected,
forty-seven percent (47%) of young workers were employed in violation of youth
employment requirements.

Only fifty-two percent (52%) of all
reinvestigated full service restaurants were in compliance (though all had
prior violations).

Ninety-three percent (93%) of the minors in the
reinvestigated firms were found to be employed in compliance with youth
employment requirements.

Fast Food Industry

Seventy percent (70%) of the fast food establishments in the
baseline sample were in youth employment compliance.

Ninety-five percent (95%) of the
minors in these establishments were employed in compliance.

However, the percentage of 14 and
15-year-olds found working in violation in fast food establishments was
much higher than the baseline. For the two sample pay periods for
which detailed information was collected, twenty-nine percent (29%) of
young workers were employed in violation of youth employment requirements.

Seventy-two percent (72%) of all
reinvestigated fast food establishments were in compliance (though all have
previous violations).

Ninety-seven percent (97%) of the
minors in the reinvestigated firms were found to be employed in compliance
with youth employment requirements.

Supermarket Industry

Eighty-two percent (82%) of the
supermarkets in the baseline samples were in youth employment compliance.

Ninety-eight percent (98%) of the
minors in these establishments were employed in compliance.

Seventy-two percent (72%) of all
reinvestigated supermarkets were in compliance (though all had previous
violations).

Ninety-five
percent (95%) of the minors in the reinvestigated firms were found to be
employed in compliance with youth employment requirements.

Other Findings

Child Labor Regulations
No. 3 Hours Violations

Reg 3 specifies the times of day and the number of hours
that may be worked by 14 and 15-year-olds during school and non-school
weeks. More than half of the violations for each of the surveyed
industries involved failure to comply with Reg 3 hours and time of day
standards.

Eighty-seven percent (87%) of these
violations involved youth working more than an hour past the time
standard.

The majority of youth worked in
violation of Reg 3 hours and time limitations - fifty-five percent (55%) -
worked more than two hours past the standard.

About another third - thirty-two
percent (32%) of the minors - worked between one and two hours past the
standard.

Occupations - Many minors hired as cashiers and cooks
in fast food establishments were employed in violation of the Reg 3
occupational prohibitions. Cashiers were found to be performing prohibited
duties - such as cooking or cleaning kitchen equipment - in addition to their
primary job duties.

Minimum
Wage and Overtime
- There was almost universal compliance in all three industries with the
minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA as they apply to young
workers.